Michelle Brydie has been living in Mid Wales for the last 31 years and has always been a great lover of the outdoors. As a child she enjoyed exploring the wilds of Wales and beyond and her love of nature and exploration continues.
Michelle is a qualified Walking Group Leader and holds a current Outdoor First Aid certificate, with a wealth of experience in leading walks and camps in the mountains and moorlands of Britain and beyond.
Michelle is renowned for leading friends and groups across hills and dales to enjoy the chance to safely explore the landscape.
She is a counsellor and holistic therapist as well as a dog sitter.
She is a keen swimmer and loves to find opportunities for wild swimming.
So if you will, let her guide you across the landscape of your choosing to feel the wind in your hair, the sun on your back and the grass beneath your feet.
Guides from previous walks
Carol Pearce is a Storyteller
She lives in Mid Wales and tells stories to adults, children and families.
Carol loves telling a wide range of tales – myths from all over the world, folk tales, fables, and autobiographical stories. Her particular passion is for wonder tales. She says “Wonder tales are richly symbolic stories, often incorporating the trials of a hero or heroine, told through striking and unusual images. In sharing images and speaking the words, the stories resonate within me as well as the audience.”
“This rich seam of storytelling continues to reveal its jewels: the Queen who ate two roses instead of choosing just one; the Cow who licked the world into being; the boy who stole the Wind Eagle; the Welsh bride made of flowers; how a real cow (an actual one, not an imaginary one) saved my life; how giants created mountains; the ring that makes sad people happy and happy people sad; the magic paintbrush; the man who would see Paradise .. all from the bottomless well of stories. I find aspects of our humanness within each one: our triumphs, our desires, our failures, our shadow.”
“If you’re going to have a story, have a big story, or not at all.” Joseph Campbell
Natalie Morris is a Medical Herbalist
She lives in Mid Wales and practices her herbal medicine from her home and also in Oswestry and at the Natural Harmony Centre in Llanerfyl.
She says – from my extensive studies and training, I wish to share my passion and knowledge of this impressive art and science with as many people as possible and introduce them to the benefits that this time-tested form of medicine has to offer.
The quest for personal happiness and natural harmony in all areas of our lives is my ultimate wish for people. I aim to help people to re-connect to their authentic selves and feel a sense of personal power.
I delight in exploring the countryside and discovering just how many medicinal plants are growing in the fields, woodlands and hedgerows of Britain.
This ancient knowledge is kept alive by exploring and learning about what is growing all around us…
“humans have over long centuries of trial, error and experimentation chosen plants to help them not only feed themselves in a healthy way, but also heal themselves when things go wrong” – David Bellamy
“Medicinal and edible herbs are mostly our wild native plants. With the advent of ‘tidy’ gardens, they became known as weeds. Weeds are for me the most interesting plants in a garden, as they almost always have an energetic, herbal, medicinal or culinary use.” – Glennie Kindred
Emma Douglas is a life coach.
She has 13 years’ experience in training, mentoring and coaching, and 5 years’ experience of managing a successful team, however, Once Up On a Time….
….Emma stood on a hill behind her cottage in Wales, sunk up to her knees in mud, a young child in each arm, low self-confidence, no qualifications and recently separated – she looked across the mountains and made a decision.
It was at that moment that she realised whatever life throws at you, whatever the odds, you always have a choice, and the time to do something about making any changes, is now.
The journey across those mountains took her far and wide, and the road was not always easy, but her experience and training has given her the skills to help people ignite their inner fires, and to achieve great results by getting them to:
- Take stock, and to take an honest look at themselves, where they are now –their behaviours, their needs and their skills
- Define a vision of where they’d like to be in their personal/work life
- Help them plan the steps they need to take to get to where they want to go
- Arm them with the tools and skills to achieve success
- Be there to keep them on track and helping them to become empowered to win
Emma now lives in London, but she still walks the Welsh hills when she can. She believes in the restorative power of being in nature and in ‘walking and talking’ for gaining new insights in to one’s life and where you’d like to be.
Lea Williams is a holistic dance teacher, therapist and craftsperson.
Lea loves living in the countryside, she is passionate about health and well-being, sustainable, natural living, permaculture, learning about wild foods and foraging, travelling and learning about other cultures and Indigenous people around the world.
She offers others the chance to experience her unique Chakra Balancing classes at the lovely retreat of Little Pentre, where she lives and also at various times at the Natural Harmony Centre. Her gentle teaching style encouraging participants to relax and enjoy the flowing, relaxing and rejuvenating experience, that is one of Lea’s sessions.
Lea is really looking forward to this opportunity to blend her unique workshop style with the holistic element of moving through nature, thus encouraging us to go with the flow and release anything holding us back from enjoying our ability to move and dance with life.